Fasteners including a pair of cooperative fastener members that may be interengaged to attach one object to another object are known. For example, hook and loop fasteners generally comprise a first fabric fastener member having a plurality of hooks extending from a generally planar base section, and a second fabric fastener member having a plurality of loops extending from a generally planar base section. The hooks and loops of the respective members may be interengaged to attach the fastener members to each other. For purposes of this invention, each of two fastening components will be designated a "fastener member," and two cooperative fastener members will together be designated a "fastener."
Another conventional type of interengaging fastener, shown in FIG. 7(a), includes first fastener member 1 and second fastener member 2. Each fastener member has a generally planar base section 3 and 4, respectively, and an arranged plurality of headed stems 5 projecting from the respective base sections. The opposed first and second fastener members 1, 2, which are typically made of a molded polymeric material, are interengaged by bringing the heads of the stems 5 into contact with each other such that the base sections 3, 4 of the fastener members are parallel. When a predetermined compressive force F is applied to the fastener members 1, 2, the heads of the stems 5 bypass each other to fasten the fastener members 1, 2 together due to interference between adjacent heads. Such a fastener has utility in a variety of applications, and is referred to herein as a "headed stem fastener." Examples of such a fastener are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,216,257, 4,290,174, and 5,077,870, and are available from Sumitomo 3M Limited of Tokyo, Japan under the designation "Dual Lock" brand fasteners.
Headed stem fasteners may be used in conjunction with a fixed pane window in, for example, the manufacturing process of an automobile. A fixed pane window typically is affixed to a window frame of the automobile body with an adhesive around the periphery of the window. However, during the time that the adhesive is hardening, it is necessary to hold the window securely, so that the window is not moved and the adhesion is not damaged. When a headed stem fastener is used to secure the window to the window frame, the first and second fastener members are affixed to the window and to the window frame, respectively, and are brought into opposite contact with each other. The fastener members may be interconnected with each other by a predetermined compressive force, after the window has been arranged at the correct position. After the window is positioned in the window frame in this way, the adhesive will harden, and a window molding may be mounted about the periphery of the window for protection and decoration. The molding is generally made of an extruded resin material.
In the foregoing application, difficulty may arise in interengaging the fastener members if the direction of the compressive force F is inclined with respect to the orientation of headed stems of a fastener member. For example, the first fastener member 1 may be adhered to inclined surface 6, and the second fastener member 2 may be positioned for interengagement with the fastener member 1, as shown in FIG. 7(b). Force F' is applied to the second fastener member 2 at force angle .alpha. with respect to the headed stems 5 of the second fastener member 2. Because force F' is inclined with respect to the headed stems 5, the headed stems 5 of the two fastener members 1, 2 may bend sideways when force F' is applied, as shown in FIG. 7(c). If the headed stems 5' bend sufficiently, the heads will not bypass each other, and the fastener members 1, 2 will not engage. Thus, the window may not be properly affixed to the automobile, which can result in leaking or window replacement costs.
A fastener member having headed projection strips may be used for solving the above problem. The faster member may be constructed, for example, as an intermediate step in the manufacturing process for the headed stem fastener, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 53-22889. Each fastener member has a plurality of engaging strips projecting from and extending mutually parallel and longitudinally of a generally flat base section. Each of the engaging strips has a vertical portion adjoining the base section, a head portion adjoining the vertical portion, and two end faces. When a pair of fastener members is used, the engaging strips of each fastener member are opposed to and parallel with each other, and the head portions thereof may be engaged with each other by a predetermined compressive force. Thus, if the compressive force is applied in an inclined direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the engaging strips, the engaging strips may be engaged with each other due to rigidity thereof, without being bent.
However, in a fastener comprising a pair of the above fastener members with engaging strips, it is necessary that the longitudinal direction of the engaging strips coincide with each other when the fastener members are interengaged. Thus, it becomes difficult to move the fastener members relative to each other for positioning, which negates some of the advantages described above for using the fastener members as the fastening assist member for a vehicle window. This problem may be solved by replacing one of the fastener members by a headed stem fastener member, but difficulty with bending the headed stems may arise again.
Another difficulty with conventional interengaging fasteners, such as hook and loop fasteners or headed stem fasteners, is that the fasteners typically cannot be engaged by parallel sliding of the fastener members. Hook and loop fasteners tend to engage upon contact, and it is therefore difficult to contact the fastener members and then slide one relative to the other. Headed stem fastener members cannot be engaged with each other by parallel sliding because the individual headed stems would be bent. In the fastener members mentioned above having engaging strips, end faces of the engaging strips extend vertically from the base section, and thus tend to collide with each other upon sliding engagement. Therefore, it is difficult to interconnect the fastener members by sliding engagement.
Further, when both the interengaging fastener for fastening a window and the molding fastener for fastening a window molding are arranged on the window frame of the vehicle body, the operation for attaching these independent fastener members to the window frame has heretofore been performed by different processes, and thus the number of steps and the labor of operators in a production line has been increased. Also, it is necessary for operators to be skilled because of the requirement for rapid and accurate positioning and correct attachment in a relatively restricted space.
It is therefore desirable to provide an interengaging fastener member that can be easily engaged with an opposed fastener member by applying a compressive force in a direction that is inclined with respect to a base section of the fastener member. It is also desirable to provide an interengaging fastener member that allows a pair of fastener members to be slidingly engaged with each other. Further, it is desirable to provide an interengaging fastener member that facilitates a reduction in the time required for affixing a vehicle window to a frame.